Method and apparatus for recovering video color subcarrier signal

• US 6,380,980 B1
• Filed: 08/25/1997
• Issued: 04/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Huang, Samson
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisenzopf, Reinhard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lo, Linus H.
• Application Number:
  US08/918,280
• Publication Number:
  US 20020047924A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,709 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.945, H04/N.9455, 348/505, 348/506, 348/507, 348/508, 348/537, 348/339, 348/349, 348/726, 348/540, 348/525, 348/530, 348/531, 346/213
• US Class Current: 348/505
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/45 Generation or recovery of colour sub-carriers

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides a signal generator for generating a signal with a predetermined frequency. The signal generator includes a first comparator for generating a first error signal and a second comparator for generating a second error signal. The first and second comparators are coupled to an oscillator configured to receive the first and second error signals and generate the signal having a predetermined frequency. Another embodiment of the present invention provides a signal generator for generating a signal with a predetermined frequency. The signal generator includes a counter for generating a first count, Q_last. The counter is coupled to a ratio counter which generates a signal having a value less than or equal to Q_last. The contents of the ratio counter represent the phase of the signal having a predetermined frequency. The ratio counter outputs the signal having a predetermined frequency.

Claims

1. A method for generating a video clocking signal, comprising:

producing an output video clocking signal from an oscillator;

receiving a reference video signal;

generating a first error signal by comparing a first aspect of said reference video signal with a first aspect of said output video clocking signal;

generating a second error signal by comparing a second aspect of said video reference signal with a second aspect of said video clocking output signal, generating a horizontal sync signal from a counter, generating weighted sampling factors, and producing a product of weighted sampling factors and the horizontal sync signal; and

adjusting said oscillator using the first error signal and the second error signal.

2. The signal generator of claim 1, wherein:

the second aspect of said video clocking signal is the phase of a generated horizontal sync signal;

the second aspect of said reference video signal is the phase of the horizontal sync signal from the counter; and

the second error signal is an accumulated value which becomes a positive value if the generated horizontal sync signal is behind the horizontal sync signal from the counter, and becomes a negative value if the generated horizontal sync signal is ahead of the horizontal sync signal generated from the counter.

3. The signal generator of claim 1, wherein a multiple of the video clocking signal is used to sample the reference video signal.

4. An apparatus comprising:

a horizontal sync comparator receiving a reference horizontal sync signal and a generated horizontal sync signal, and generating a horizontal sync error signal, said horizontal sync comparator comprising;

a weighted sampling factors ROM coupled to the pixel counter and configured to generate weighting factors,

a multiplier coupled to the weighted sampling factors ROM and configured to generate a product of the weighting factors and the reference horizontal sync signal, and

an accumulator coupled to the multiplier and configured to generate the horizontal sync error signal; and

a digitally controlled oscillator coupled to the horizontal sync comparator to receive the horizontal sync error signal and to generate an output signal.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a color subcarrier comparator receiving a reference color subcarrier signal and a generated color subcarrier signal, and generating a color subcarrier error signal;

and where in the digitally controlled oscillator is coupled to the color subcarrier comparator to receive the color subcarrier error signal.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the output signal generated by the digitally controlled oscillator is used to generate the generated horizontal sync signal and the generated color subcarrier signal.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the output signal generated by the digitally controlled oscillator is a multiple of a pixel clock, and said multiple of a pixel clock is used to sample a reference video signal comprised of the reference horizontal sync signal and the reference color subcarrier signal.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the horizontal sync error signal is a value accumulated in a register which becomes a positive value if the generated horizontal sync signal is behind the reference horizontal sync signal, and becomes a negative value if the generated horizontal sync signal is ahead of the reference horizontal sync signal.

9. A video signal generator, said video signal generator comprising:

a fixed pixel clock generator;

a counter coupled to said fixed pixel clock generator, said counter to count a number of pixels during each horizontal scan line of a reference video signal;

a ratio counter coupled to the counter, the ratio counter to generate a phase signal; and

a phase to amplitude converter, said phase to amplitude converter receiving said phase signal to generate an output color subcarrier signal.

10. The video signal generator of claim 9 further comprising:

a phase comparator coupled to the ratio counter, the phase comparator configured to receive the output color subcarrier signal and the reference video signal and configured to generate an color subcarrier error signal.

11. The signal generator of claim 9, wherein the ratio counter receives twice the number of pixels received during the previous horizontal scan line.

12. The signal generator of claim 10, wherein the phase comparator compares a color burst signal form the reference video signal with the output signal.

13. The signal generator of claim 9, wherein the fixed pixel clock generator generates a signal having a frequency of 12.27 Mhz.